Bob Kravitz: Indiana Pacers start well, like everybody expects

Oct. 30, 2013

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Pacers Paul George is fouled by Orlando's Maurice Harkless,#21. Indiana Pacers play the Orlando Magic in their season opening game Tuesday, October 29, 2013, evening at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. / Matt Kryger / The Star

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At least we won’t have to hear the usual civic whining about how the national media aren’t paying attention to the Indiana Pacers this season.

Have you looked around the web lately? The Pacers have become this year’s fashionable media pick to unseat the Miami Heat. Cat Fancy magazine likes the Pacers. National Geographic likes the Pacers. Field & Stream likes the Pacers.

OK, I’m making those last three up, but you get the idea. Check out the links, and those who aren’t going chalk and picking the Heat are falling in love with the Pacers. And it’s not just writers, who, like me, know absolutely nothing. I heard George Karl, the former Nuggets coach, sing the Pacers’ praises the other night on ESPN, touting them as a team that has a chance to unseat the Heat.

The guess here is Indiana did nothing to change anybody’s mind Tuesday night, awakening late in the third quarter and eventually knocking off the Orlando Magic, 97-87, in their home- and season-opener.

Yes, they slogged through the better part of three quarters, falling into some bad old habits with turnovers, but in the end, they got strong games from Paul George and Lance Stephenson and 18 blocked shots to walk away with the win.

“Hopefully, this was a sign of what we can become,’’ coach Frank Vogel said.

There’s a good reason for the national (and local) media’s optimism. They’re returning their starting five, they’re adding Danny Granger (eventually, we think) and they’ve upgraded their bench (again, we think).

Why shouldn’t the team that took the Heat to seven games be in a position to take that next step and reach the Finals?

This should be a significantly better team.

Shouldn’t it?

“It’s like when you see a great movie and the sequel comes out,’’ Vogel said. “You want to see how it plays out after that. We had a great run last year. So I’m really excited about not only seeing our core group taking a run at it but seeing how the new pieces fit.’’

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At which point, somebody noted that sequels rarely live up to the quality of the original.

“OK,’’ Vogel said, smiling. “Bad analogy.’’

Although “Godfather II” was pretty good, but we’re moving off the point here.

There haven’t been these kinds of expectations since 2004, when the Pacers had every reason to believe they would bypass the Detroit Pistons as the best team in the East and possibly the best in the league. And, well, you know what happened to that group. Ron-Ron goes Ron-Ron and the rest is history.

Best yet, the city has finally noticed. Individual ticket sales are up 50 percent and package sales are up 30 percent. Seriously, if Indy can’t get behind this team — a team in every conceivable sense of the word — there’s no hope for pro hoops in Indianapolis.

“I don’t know that we’re the clear favorite to unseat Miami,’’ Vogel said. “There are a lot of horses in the East. But I like our chances.’’

If the Pacers are going to come close to their stated goal of earning home court advantage throughout the playoffs, they’ve got to do what they did Tuesday night: Win games like this, win games against lottery-bound teams, whether it’s at home or on the road or in a submarine.

For three quarters, they sleep-walked, or turned the ball over, whichever was more convenient, allowing a bad Magic team to stick around. (Quick aside: Victor Oladipo is going to be a stud in this league). After rushing out to a 12-0 lead, they played sloppy, disinterested basketball and found themselves in a game with a team that’s going to be hard-pressed to win 25 games this year.

And then George brought the hammer down with the shot that changed everything. With the Pacers hanging on to a two-point lead late in the third quarter, George hit a contested, step-back three point bomb at the buzzer, and the Magic were done.

“These are the kinds of games we’ve got to win,’’ George said after a 24-point, six rebound, five-assist night. “We can’t wait until late in the season to get hot. If we want home court, we’ve got to beat teams like this, especially at home.’’

This was the Pacers team we all expected. They locked down defensively in the fourth quarter. They controlled the boards, especially Roy Hibbert, who had 12 rebounds in the first quarter and finished with 16 and seven blocked shots. They owned the paint, adding a career-high five blocked shots by David West. And they got something they rarely got last year, a big push from the bench, who stretched a five-point lead at the end of the third quarter into a 20-point lead.

So here you go: They will win 55 games this season. They will win the Central Division. They will have home court advantage against everybody save for the Heat, who figure to win 60-plus.